Lifesaver - Steven Universe Lifeguard AU
by Curious Calamity
Summary: You know.. I don't really like the water." . Memories stay to teach us of what we need to know, what we can learn from. So when Ruby is forced to relive events from her past. (But in her normal self) How will she cope? Will she be saved again? Lifeguard AU. Contains swearing. Sorry for the shitty summary lmao.
1. Chapter 1

The sun beat down on the world below it, sending heat and light to all those in it. Light splashes and Screams of glee echoed throughout the play space; little children ran about the establishment, only to be told off by the unforgiving whistle of the lifeguard. Yup, this was the normal day for the pool, and wow, the first day of summer definitely brought in the crowd.

.

"Hey, Sapphire!" Two girls stood at the bottom of the lifeguard deck, speaking lightly as they waited for their shift to start. "Yes, Lapis?"

"Are you ready to start this? Honestly, it gets a little boring."

"How so?"

"It sucks. That's all I can tell you.."

Sapphire shrugged, but rolled her eyes at her friends attitude.

"Its probably fine. I've trained and I'm ready for this."

"Oh well, good luck! Don't talk to me, though. I don't want to get caught again."

"Of course, Blue Diamond is VERY strict. I don't understand why.."

Lapis paused a bit, opening her mouth to speak. But seemed to decide against it.

"Ya.. I wonder why.."

Sapphire took this as her turn to stop talking. She bid her friend goodbye before climbing atop the high tower. She set her stuff down, and sat down in the high chair. She was already in her uniform, a red shirt and shorts with "lifeguard written all over them"

She was new to lifeguarding, but that didn't mean she was bad at it.

She scanned the area, searching for signs of anything. It was hard to tell, she'd admit, there was a shit ton of people.

She sighed, before resting her face in her palms. This was going to be.. An interesting day..

.

Sun was cast brightly on mahogany skin as a girl sat on the side of the pool, watching the members in the pool with mild interest.

Her amber colored eyes were scanning, uncertain on the water, not sure..

"Oh come on, Ruby! Try the water a bit!"

The girl sighed, before yelling back: "I'm good!"

"Oh come on, Ruby! You're always like this; what's the point of coming here if you don't want to swim?"

The girl-Ruby- narrowed her red eyes, before looking away. Her eyes downcast. Her arms were crossed and clutching at her shoulders. "You know I dont exactly like water, okay?" She could feel Amethysts questioning her intense brown eyes staring at her, even if she wasnt looking at the said girl. At last, she sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But no splashing 'kay?"

She heard a triumphant sounding cry from Amethyst before she turned back around, turning toward the pool. She winced when water splashed over her unexpectedly, but it wasnt too bad. Of course i had to go with Amethyst here. Why the hell did I agree? Oh well, its too late now. She thought sullenly as she stuck her foot into the water. Amethyst seemed to have gone quiet, no sounds were coming from the purple haired girl.

She sat down at the edge, preparing to slide in, before a gigantic splash of water knocked her in. She coughed, before glaring at the culprits, two kids. Her curly hair was plastered to her face. Great.. This is just great.

She sighed, before pushing herself over to the wall. Her friend wasn't there "Hey, Amethyst." She called out, noticing her friends absence.

"Amethyst? Where-"

She was interuppted from her sentence when her legs were suddenly kicked away from under her, and with a yell, she tumbled under.

She frantically thrashed underneath the surface, not knowing which way to turn. Terror shot through her, zapping her like a bolt of lightning. No, no! Not again! She thrashed violently, before her feet found the bottom of the pool. Without thinking, she launched herseld up desperately, wanting to get to the surface.

She gasped as she broke the surface, even though it had been a shirt time in which she was submerged underwater.

"Amethyst you Son of a -"

Amethyst covered Ruby's mouth, a smirk in her face. "Ah, ah. There are kids here, remember?"

Ruby huffed, but that didn't stop her from jumping onto her friend, pushing her underwater. Amethyst snorted before pulling Ruby down with her. The two friends were a laughing, shoving mess for a bit, before a shrill whistle cut through the air.

The two girls sat up, looking to one of the lifeguards, who was glaring at them.

Amethyst groaned, before lifting her wet bangs out of her face.

"Oh we get it alrea-" Amethyst shouted toward the lifeguard that had blown their whistle at them. She paused her speech, a smirk settling on her face.

"Hey, Ruby. Check it out." She winked to Ruby, looking once again over the said girls shoulder.

Ruby glanced backwards,at the lifeguard, who was putting his gear onto one of the lifeguard chairs. She had already known what Amethyst was going to say next. She rolled her eyes,

"Nah, not my type."

Amethyst groaned, before grabbing

Ruby's shoulders, turning her a different direction

"No, dumbass! That one!"

Ruby sighed before following her gaze once more.

Her jaw dropped,

Okay, this girl was certaintly her type.

Her light brown skin shone in the bright light, making her stick out even in all these people.

Okay, let's cut to the chase. She was beautiful.

"Hey, Ruby? Oh god, you better not be getting a lady boner on me."

Ruby shook her head, shuddering somewhat when her wet her touched her face. "Huhwhat- wait!- No! I mean she's pretty and all but-"

"Sure. Alright. What did you get on the test-" Ruby froze when she heard the name. "Oh my god, I completely forgot!"

"What?"

"I was supposed to tutor Connie today.." Ruby groaned, before paddling over to the side of the pool.

"Look, Amethyst. I have to go."

"But, you just got here! Its no fun without you, especially if P actually does make it today."

Ruby smiled slightly, "Sorry, I can't just ditch her, though. She's my cousin!"

Amethyst huffed, a few strands of her unruly hair lifting up from the breeze.. "Fine, but you better make this up!"

Ruby chuckled, before rolling her eyes, "I will, I will, don't worry."

She pushed herself out of the pool. Literally pushed. Its not the graceful kind of getting out of the pool either. You know the kind where you put your leg over the side of the pool edge and struggle your way up? Yup. That's the way.

Ruby felt her face go hot when she heard Amethyst snorts of laughter. But she couldn't quite get up, as much as she trued to pull. If she slid back down, she would get quite a few scratches and Amethyst might try to force her to swim again.

She was stuck.

"Hey. Need a hand?"

Ruby looked up, about to retort, before her eyes widened. It was the girl. The light reflected off her light hair, making her shine.

"U-uh, ya." The girl smiled slightly, before grabbing Ruby's hand. Ruby flinched slightly at the contact, she wasn't used to it. But she got up all the same.

"Er, thanks."

"No problem."

Ruby looked up, the girl was a bit taller than her. But it didn't matter. She realized her eyes were covered. What's up with that? She thought, confused by how a lifeguard could see through those bangs

Oh ya! Lifeguard!

"Uh, so you're the new lifeguard,right? I haven't seen you around here before; I've come here since I was little, after all." Ruby found herself stumbling over those words, and near the end, her voice cracked.

Great this is just great.

The girl smiled softly, "Yes I am. I just moved here from beach city, that's probably why you haven't seen me around either."

Ruby smiled back, "Ya I guess-" Water slashed over her foot, and she turned to glare at the one who splashed her, Amethyst winked at her, mouthing the words: 'do it or lose it'

Ruby nodded hesitantly, "So hey I-"

"10-6. We need an extra, 10-20-"

Ruby was cut off by the static voice the radio produced. The girl smiled shyly, "sorry, I have to take this. See you around."

With that, she walked away.

"Oh clmekn, Ruby! You could've done so much better than that!"

Ruby huffed, throwing her flip flop at Amethyst. "Oh hush up, will uou? Its not my fault that I got completely cockblocked by a goddamn RADIO. Whatever, see ya Amethyst!"

"Bye!"

Ruby walked off, towel sound around her shoulder.

That was so embarrassing

.

'"I can't believe I just made a fool of myself in front of everyone.. Goddamn! You had one job, Ruby, and you failed." The girl was currently pacing on the other side of the pool, the uninhabited deep end,that was mainly used for diving. Once out of eye and earshot. She paced alongside the pool , a thing she normally did when angry. Ruby stayed as far from the edge as possible, not wanting to fall into the 20 ft abyss of darkness.

She was surprised no one else was here,

"Hey, get out of the way." Ruby narrowed her eyes at the woman in front of her, before realizing it wasn't worth the fight. "Sorry." She moved aside, closer to the pool, in her case.

The woman smirked, as she shoved Ruby aside even more.

"Whoops. Sorry."

Ruby didn't get the chance to respond before she was thrown downwards. Ruby expected to feel concrete as she fell, but as she opened her eyes, she was forced to close them once more as water came to meet her vision. She fell into the water with a clumsy splash. Under the surface she struggled slightly, looking for a place to put her feet, just like last time. She was calmer about it, knowing it'll be okay. But her feet touched nothing. There was no floor within her reach.

...Shit! This is the deep end

And with that, Ruby sunk down, down, down.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/n: I forgot to mention this is a human AU, shit**_

 _ **Well, ya. Its a human AU.**_

 _ **I wrote most of this in July, so its kinda bad.**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

Isnt there a saying that ones mind flashes to what's important before death?

That's bullshit.

She thrashed blindly, reaching up in a futile attempt to reach the surface

It was too bad she was the type of person that sinks like a rock.

She sunk further into the darkness, each thrash sending her deeper down.

She screamed, trying to alert those of her presence. The bubbles floated up, barely even reaching the surface before popping.

She was trapped.

 _I can't.. I dont want to die! Not like this!_

Her body was beginning to numb, the lack of true air beginning to take a toll on her

She couldn't move for much longer

It was hopeless.

She stopped her struggling as her remaining strength seeped out if her muscles. She didn't know how long she had been sinking, but she didn't care. There was no hope for her to get out. The lifeguards and everyone haven't seemed to notice her yet. She was a speck of dust in the world. Soon to be forgotten.

She just aimlessly

Down down down

 _This is it.. heh, who knew itd be like this._

Her blurry vision caught the sight of something solid underneath her, the bottom of the pool.

She smiled lightly, closing her eyes.

She was growing dizzy, she couldnt think straight.. well, it wasnt like she could anyway.

 _Its just like before.._

Her body hit the ground, the soft 'plunk' echoing through the water around her.

 _But now.. theres no blue eyed angel to save me_

Her black curls obstructed her view of the light that was once her home.

She feebly pushed at the ground, trying to at least get somewhat closer to the surface she once knew

Nothing

She wanted to scream, but her lack of air forbid it.

She was so helpless, she couldnt do anything. She couldnt even swim.

Pathetic.

Claws had constricted around her throat, tightening with each second without breath.

She hated it.

She opened her mouth, trying to breathe, to get rid of the feeling she hated.

Big mistake.

Water began to gush in, filling her mouth.

She coughed, well, tried to. She was only met with more water gushing in.

At that point, she knew it.

She knew she was going to die.

The world seemed eerily silent around her, only the sound of her struggle filling it.

Water filled her lungs, making her gasp for more air, which made more water enter her mouth.

It was hopeless

She turned her head towards the surface. She smiled slightly, seeing the light she once called home. And for the final time, closed her eyes.

.

.

 _._

 _Two children sat near a river, one playfully splashing the other with water. They giggled gaily, having fun on this nice today. They were young kids, around the age of 8._

 _"_ _ **Can you hear me?"**_

 _"Hey, what're you talking about? I'm right next to you! Of course I can."_

 _The girl seemed startled. "Huh? I didn't say anything?"_

 _"Oh.. It must've been the wind then!"_

 _"The wind?" The girl next to her shuffled a bit, sitting criss crossed. "How can the wind talk?"_

 _"I mean, my dad used to tell me that the wind has seen it all and is there to give life to everyone-"_

 _"_ _ **Can you hear me?"**_

 _Ruby chose to ignore the voice. "Or it could just carry the sound of someone's voice. Its weird, really."_

 _The other girl smiled slightly, taking in the strange concept. "Interesting."_

 ** _"How did this happen?"_**

 _The voice sounded again, stirring Ruby once again. Her heart was in her throat, she couldn't breathe. "Are you okay?" The blue eyed girl asked, causing her to look up._

 _Ruby clutched her throat, trying her best to breathe. The girl narrowed her eyes, crouching down to her level._

 _"_ _ **Can you hear me?**_ _"_

 _The voice sounded again, but this time it came from the girls lips._

 _What?_

 _The wind whipped past the two, and suddenly the clearing they sat in was no more. They sat in a room of white_

 _"_ _ **She's not breathing!"**_

 _"What?" Ruby stopped, staring in awe at the change in setting. The pain was no more. It was eerily calm here._

 _She found herself liking it._

 _"What is this place?"_

 _The other girl shrugged, her dark skin seeming to glow in the white. "What do you think?"_

 ** _"Can you hear me?"_**

 _Ruby turned, looking up. She couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, but as every word was spoken, her heart seemed to tug her towards it._

 _The girl smiled sadly, "You should go follow it. Its for the best."_

 _"But I don't want to leave you! You saved me all those years ago-" the girl shook her head, a sad smile on her face._

 _"That was in the past. Now, wake up Ruby. Wake up."_

 _"What_?"

" _ **Wake up."**_

.

 **"Can you hear me?"**

The voice was there again, but it sounded so much closer.

 _Am i dead_?

Ruby herself wasnt exactly a believer, but she wouldnt mind if she was in heaven.

Her body felt heavy, like water was pressing down on every inch of her body, as if-

Wait.. Wasn't she just in the water?

She froze, not knowing what to make of the situation. Her head was lighr, and it seemed as if her heart was loeing with each coming moment. She couldnt breathe, it was if something was clogging up her lungs. But as soon as she realized that, she found that something was pushing up her throat. With a heave, liquid spilt out of her mouth, making her gag.

"She's okay.. She's okay.." An eerily familiar voice entered her mind, it seemed reassuring.

She still didn't have that much of an idea of what was going on. All she remembered was the bottom of the pool-

Oh. _OH_

It was all coming back to her now.

She slowly opened her eyes, wincing slightly as the light burned them. She made out a few figures, two of which were closer than others. It was all blurry for her, she couldn't tell what was what.

Goddamn contacts.. Ruby couldn't help but think as she lifted her head, blinking slightly.

As her vision cleared, she could make out a girl, probably no older than she was in front of her.

" **Can you hear me?"**

The voice echoed through her mind once more, its owner still not found.

The girl smiled at her, looking relieved. "Are you okay?" She helped Ruby sit up, rubbing her back as more water spilt out of the girls mouth. Ruby couldn't reply, her mind still in a haze from all that had happened.

"The medics should be here soon.. You gave us quite a scare." The girl said, ushering other people away from the scene. "Amethyst was going ballistic, she even ran out to reach the hospital." Ruby couldn't help but look up at that, unable to speak. She smiled slightly, thinking of her best friend.

Honestly, this whole situation shocked her. All had happened so quickly... But she was alive.

"Did you save me?" She choked out the words, her throat still raw from coughing up water. The girl turned, looking at her once more. Light reflected off her dark brown skin, making her glow. It reminded Ruby of the girl that had saved her from a similar predicament all those years ago. "Well.. I guess you could say that." The girls blue eye (the other was covered by her hair.) shone, making her seem almost ghostly in the light.

Ruby had found herself another blue eyed angel.

 **A/n: terrible cutoff i know. I might continue this, might not Idk. The only reason I finished this chapter is because someone commented on it. And ya. That's it. Sorry it was bad.**


End file.
